Jurgen Klopp is planning for the short-term without his star playmaker Philippe Coutinho , but wouldn't confirm how long until he expected the Brazilian back.

Coutinho had a scan on his ankle on Monday and it wasn't deemed serious enough for surgery but a layoff of five to six weeks was estimated.

After making eight changes for the Reds EFL Cup match against Leeds, Klopp said: “Phil needs between five and a few weeks until we have him back. We will see. He is not in for tonight and for the next few games.”

“Roberto [Firmino] couldn’t play. The same with Joel Matip and a few other players had all the games until now – we can bring in fresh legs, especially in defence."

Coutinho clutches his ankle (Photo: Clive Brunskill)

With such blows to his usually imposing attacking stocks, Divock Origi got a chance to lead the Liverpool line at Anfield.

“In attack, we have not that number of options anymore but I’m fine with the options we have," Klopp said.

"So we start with this line-up, we have a strong bench and we want to go to the semis.”

Coutinho will miss some huge matches for the title-chasing Reds during his time in rehab.

The Brazilian receives treatment (Photo: Clive Brunskill)

He will be sorely missed for the league visit to Bournemouth on December 4, the trip to West Ham on December 11 and the midweek clash with Middlesbrough on December 14.

He'll also be out of commission for the Merseyside Derby against Everton in Monday Night Football on December 19 and the home clash with Stoke on the 27th.

In the best case scenario of five weeks, Coutinho could be back in contention for the huge match-up with Manchester City at 5.30pm on New Year's Eve and January 2 trip to Sunderland.

After that Liverpool have a 13-day break in league fixtures until they visit Manchester United.